1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to chain link fabrication, and more particularly, to an improved knuckler for a chain link fence weaving machine.
2. Description of Related Art
Chain link fence weaving machines are well known in the art. Companies such as BMCI, Inc., dba as Bergandi Machinery Company of South El Monte, Calif. manufacture and sell chain link weaving machines, such as their HR 80 automatic weaving machine. In machines, such as this Bergandi Machine, two strands of wire from two large coils of wire are continuously fed onto a forming mechanism (weaving blade), so that two needles at a time are formed into a picket in an intercoiled manner and then woven in a trough weaving mechanism to form continuous links of chain link.
After being woven together, the just woven picket is cut off at the ends, and a wire fabric of open construction is formed having sharp, cut ends, the formed wire fabric is then indexed through the machine to a point along the top thereof where selvage is performed. This selvage is accomplished by turret knucklers which form knuckles by bending over the sharpened ends thereof, or other turret mechanisms to twist the ends and form sharp barbs thereon.
The barbed or knuckled ends formed on the chain link fabric are then utilized as the top and bottom of the fabric when the fence is mounted on poles, or the open wire fabric may be used in furniture, in land fill, mines, rock control, soil retention, or other areas.
For some usage, chain link may be provided with a decorative or protective coating, such as a paint or a plastic, such as polyvinylchloride (PVC). However, it has been found that when forming the knuckled ends on such coated or painted chain link fabric, the known turret knucklers will cut the coating, or scrap off the paint on the fabric, thus defeating the original intent of adding the coating. Therefore, there exists the need in the art for a knuckler for forming knuckled ends on coated chain link fabric which does not cut, mar or scrap off the coating.